Thanks for the info. I have the EP500 manual that came with the sub, and one that I downloaded off the site later in the year, and each is worded differently regarding the crossover setting. I did find the answer to my badly worded second question in an online article called The Denon to English Dictionary. It states that the LFE setting in the Manual Speaker Menu is incorrectly labeled and should read, LPF (low-pass filter), which is what I've been hunting for in the 3808's owner's manual. Audyssey recommends setting this to 120Hz.

Now the only thing I'm still having trouble with is getting the subwoofer's distance setting correct. I get a distance of 26 feet and the channel level is always getting set to -10 to -13.5db's. I've reduced the EP500's volume setting on the back of the cabinet, but that just seems to increase the negative decibels in the channel level menu. These articles on Audyssey say try and disable the LPF in the sub, but I don't think that feature is available in the EP500v2.

These tweaks are getting me such a superior sound then what I'm used to, it's almost like I've just bought a whole new system.

My "starting-out" advice to anyone setting up a 5.1/7.1 system is to always use "Small" speaker settings and an 80-Hz crossover. Turn off all auto-calibration and auto-EQ (Audyssey and similar auto-EQ systems are always error-prone and produce inaccurate setup) and do a manual setup, then you can experiment with different crossover settings if you have large full-range front left and right main speakers and a full-range center.

You'll always want to bypass the subwoofer's internal crossover since your AV receiver is setting all the filters.

Now, about that article of mine. I modified my earlier text for that article because Ian wanted me to allow for greater flexibility. He and some of my other Axiom colleagues prefer more bass than I do (what I call "overwhelming bass", much larger than life) and so do lots of Axiom customers.

I've found that in most setups, if you set the front main speakers to "Large" AND you use the subwoofer, it simply produces far too much bass. But lots of bass-heads love it.

Certainly experiment with lower crossover settings for your front mains--in some installations, 60 Hz or 40 Hz may be preferable with full-range speakers.

Bayne, getting the subwoofer distance "correct" doesn't necessarily correspond to the physical distance as measured with a tape measure. There are delays in the sub electronics which result in the sound arriving later than would be the case if only the actual physical distance was a factor. It's not unusual therefore if the distance set is significantly longer than what would be measured by hand. The auto-calibration done by Audyssey and other systems is likely to be more accurate than what could be done manually, even if aided by an SPL meter, since the added element of human error is involved.

The reduction of the volume setting on the back of the sub simply has to result in the sub trim in the receiver going closer to 0, since a lower setting at the sub is balanced by a higher setting at the receiver for the same overall volume level. So, the contrary effect would be puzzling indeed.

You've already mentioned the Bypass setting and it's been discussed above, so this is what disables(bypasses)the low-pass filter; there's no need to look for anything else. Note that this isn't the low-pass filter on the LFE channel(120Hz max setting)which is something totally different and isn't what was being suggested to be disabled.

I currently have the crossovers for the mains and center set to 60Hz and the surrounds at 80Hz with that LFE/LPF at 120Hz. In a week or two a good buddy who has amazing hearing when it comes to speakers will drop by so we can play around with the settings more. His well-trained ear should be able to help me out. He was the one who was blown away by my Axiom's when I first got them. He said they sounded every bit a good as his much more expensive Paradigm's, but I think his opinion has changed a bit. His really expensive Paradigm center channel sounds terrible and their customer service wouldn't help him out, so now he owns my old VP150 and says he loves it. I also got him to change from $12 per foot speaker cable to Axiom's $.98 per foot bulk ones and he can't tell the difference.